Meet Me At Ichiraku
by Narfko Uzusasage
Summary: After being Sakura's emotional support for years, sixteen year old Naruto has all but gotten used to stepping aside to her infatuation for Sasuke. Meanwhile Sakura's crush has reached it's emotional peak and as usual she turns to letting her stress out on
1. Fishing in the Forest

"**Meet Me At Ichiraku**"

_Summary: _After being Sakura's emotional support for years, sixteen year old Naruto has all but gotten used to stepping aside to her infatuation for Sasuke. Meanwhile Sakura's crush has reached it's emotional peak and as usual she turns to letting her stress out on Naruto-- violently. But, how much will one kid take before he finds someone who won't beat him up every time she gets rejected? NaruSaku

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto. All characters are in possession of Kishimoto Masashi. May he continue to fuel the fire of the angst.

'_Hi, I am a character's thought process! But you knew that._'

* * *

"Yosh!" 

Splashes of water shot into the air, causing a mirage of rainbow in the sky, as the eternally energetic ninja known as Uzumaki Naruto sailed into the air with them. His hair was in his eyes as he stood up to his waist in the stream. But he could not hide a grin behind the still wriggling fish he held in his mouth. A swipe from his sopping wet hand drew his hair away so that he could open his eyes, the same hand then taking the brightly colored green and blue fish from his mouth. Naruto brought his opponent up to his face, examining it with one shockingly blue eye as it gasped for breath pitifully.

"You put up too much of a fight, there's no way I can eat something with that much determi--"

Before he had a chance to pay the fish its compliment it let out a violent spasm, as if it had just been jolted with electricity. After dropping it up towards the sky numerous times and failing to re-catch it, poor Naruto let the fish drop back into its riverbed home. He stood in the position of a boy dumbfounded, attempting to catch a wet and slippery bar of soap for a while then let out a low groan.

"I have to find something else to eat. This sucks, I'm all wet and it's almost noon," he muttered as he trudged through the water onto the shore.

The little round stones added a background noise as he walked on them tenderly. click. clack. clunk. Naruto hurried to the branch where he had hung his clothes almost an hour before and quickly began to dress himself. '_If I caught a cold the missions would be hell._' he thought smiling. A quick rustle of leaves and the snapping of a few small twigs in the forest made his head turn before he had time even to zipper his jacket. Emerging slightly clumsily from the shade of the trees was Sakura's stunningly bright hair, naturally hued the odd color of pink cotton candy. As some of these troublesome locks were brushed from her face, a few choice expletives were heard emitted from under her breath. She had almost fallen on a stray root due to the hair in her face having been in the way.

"Sakura.. It's just you." Naruto lost the tense air that he had possessed in his uncertainty only minutes before, hand poised inches above his holster on the stump was now resting familiarly on the back of his head, "What are you doing out here?"

Sakura smiled with a tinge of biting sarcasm, taking her arms to her chest as she took a defensive stance to answer the boy.

"I can go wherever I please, what are you trying to insinuate?"

The poor boy was caught entirely off-guard by such a negative response and as he opened his mouth to apologize for something he had never done, she opened hers, not giving him a chance before she continued on her rampage.

"I came out here for a little fresh air, besides.." her tone softened at this next mere thought.

"I saw Sasuke walking out here last week and I thought.. well.."

Naruto shook his head, his eyes closed in a mid-rolling motion. Sakura had reached some epitome of pathetic lately to add to her inability to see plainly what was happening there in front of her.

"Sakura, I haven't seen him but I'm here so why.. how about.. you and I can go on a walk

instead?"

Sakura's emerald eyes lost the 'Sasuke Glaze' for a moment, replaced by disappointment. Naruto could see this change in her without trying by now; it had happened so many times on missions and during training. He wasn't good enough. She'd so much rather be with Sasuke that the expression on her face nearly screamed it. Sakura couldn't help it any more than Naruto could help the melancholy look that swept over him every time he saw it. He recovered quickly for her sake.

"But we don't have to, I know you wanted Sasuke.."

"Let's go, the weather is nice. We shouldn't waste it." She cut him off almost too coldly, then turned her back to him and started off into the dense woods.

* * *

_Author Note_: This was the first chapter of my first fic. Whether or not I continue the second chapter (I already have part of it done, so it's 'how fast I post it') depends on the reviews I get. I apologize for it's shortness. Please review. Thank you! 


	2. Last to Hear

It seems to take me eighty years to update a fic, that's not a very promising prospect now is it? Let's hope this was all worth it, eh? Future chapters won't be that slow, my word. Had some.. Issues with stress. Sorry. Uu;

_Disclaimer_: If Naruto was mine, oh the things that I'd do to Itachi. ©Kishimoto

As we last left our protagonist…

* * *

The light reflected off of small objects and played tricks on their eyes, causing shadows to dance in the thick branches of the woods. Almost every little twig and leaf had it's own place, and then they came stampeding through with their misplaced argument, scattering light and throwing uninvited sound to the far reaches of the serene setting. In a last ditch of fumbling frustration as he half stumbled over a root and the words to pick himself up out of the proverbial dog-house with his long time ally and friend, he dropped to sit on a fallen log.

"Don't be silly, Naruto… you have to return to the village at some point."

"Nope, not really. I don't have to if I don't want to." Naruto retained that stubborn immaturity, even in his older teen years.

"Well fine, I'm not staying in this creepy part of the forest just because you're being dumb. Have fun… At night... By yourself... When the sand ninja come for stragglers." she responded in a sing-song voice as she sauntered off, waiting for him to jump up after her.

Though as appealing as staying out here in the nice fresh air seemed, it wasn't as nice an idea to be picked off by some renegade psychotic sand-nin. So up he was a few moments after her silhouette faded towards their familiar home village.

"Sakura-Chan! Alright! I changed my mind…" he shook his leg free of a branch that had gotten caught on his pants, "…Sakura-Chan?"

* * *

Twilight was hitting so the streets had just begun to be decorated with trails of light and the smells of night vendors opening their doors to let the aroma waft out and entice passersby to partake in their delicacies.

Sakura walked silently down a main street, gazing off absentmindedly at the lights in the distance a little further down. Her mind, as it was for the past few years, was elsewhere. Uchiha Sasuke had returned from training with Kakashi having gained leagues of skills in ninjutsu and taijutsu, but his people skills were still lacking. Probably due to the fact that their teacher could use some people skills himself, Sakura couldn't blame poor Kakashi for being a bit of a self-contained person. He had his reasons, this was learned early on in their training.

Sakura came to rest on a bench, looking up at the five faces of the great hokage's carved into the mountain wall. Though her body was at rest, her mind raced with thoughts that she'd rather put to an end. A tentative yet familiar voice broke her mind's ill-ease, with a sincere question Sakura was snapped back to attention.

"Haruno-San… may… may I sit there… please?"

"Hinata-Chan, of course." Sakura responded with an inviting smile.

After the girls stared up at the eternally placid hokages in a moment of silence, Hinata broke with a statement that caught Sakura off guard.

"The hokages… they're really strong… like… Naruto." she said it in an almost offhanded sort of way, as if the whole world should have already known this.

"Yeah.. Yeah, Naruto is pretty strong. But not like a hokage."

"Oh but! He says he'll become hokage and I just know that he can do it. He's so determined, he always keeps his promises.." A blush overcame the tiny Hyuuga's pale cheeks as she looked down, suddenly massively interested in her own feet and surprised at the confidence with which she said that.

Sakura only smiled, keeping her gaze solidly on the mountain. _If there's one thing that lunkhead is good at it's keeping those crazy promises he makes_.

"Yes, you're right Hinata-Chan. He never breaks a promise."

"Haruno-San, do you think… well do you think that… Oh! I have to go, if I'm late to dinner.. then, well.. I don't even want to think about it…"

Sakura looked to the girl in surprise, she was up and off in such a hurry, as if the world depended on it. With a small sigh she slumped on the bench and closed her eyes, tired from today's training and whatnot. Though she didn't have long to rest as a pair of hands were up and over her eyes and a playful voice was in her ear moments later.

"Guess who?"

"… Naruto, usually you change your voice when you do that." she laughed as she grabbed one of his hands to keep him from escaping defeat.

"Aw well, I still win anyway."

"Why is that?"

"Because I have a coupon, so I'm buying you dinner at Ichiraku, let's go!" he announced excitedly, breaking his hand free and launching it into the air triumphantly.

"Oh… I was thinking of just going home for dinner…"

"Awh, come on Sakura-Chan. You know you want some!" he teased, pulling the coupon from his forehead protector and waving it in front of her.

Sakura nabbed the coupon from him quickly and in a flurry like fuchsia thunder, she was off running in the opposite direction and waving it above his head, taunting him. Sakura shoved it into the long sleeve of her red jacket, having traded in her old outfit for a longish red jacket with the traditional white pattern on it, and black pants with many pockets for holding her extra medicinal belongings since she began special training. Naruto made a grab for it before it slipped out of sight into her sleeve, then a long and dramatic sigh as he straightened up and shrugged in desperation.

"Well I guess it's lost then, no ramen for me."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously for a moment, _He's not giving up a free meal just because I stole it from him_..

With reckless abandon and no warning whatsoever Naruto pounced, holding Sakura's empty arm with his left hand and probing for his coupon with the other. This caused the ticklish Sakura to erupt into a fit of giggles at the mere prospect of being touched and she batted wildly at the prying boy.

"What! Hey… Naruto… stop that's… NOT MY ARM." she shrieked with a swing at his head, nearly missing as the bright haired Naruto ducked just in time.

"Whoa, that looked like it would have hurt!" he replied in a mock insulted voice "But at least I got this, now let's go. You aren't really just going home, are you?" he produced the coupon victoriously as Sakura righted herself and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I should, but.. I guess I could stand a bowl." her stomach couldn't stand to be spiteful, it let out a loud growl as it's way of asking to be taken to Ichiraku.

* * *

Ichiraku was guilty for some of the delicious aroma wafting out into the street, miso noodles with delicious seafood piled on top was their specialty and Naruto's favorite dish. The two teenagers ducked their way into the small but welcoming ramen shop and took a seat at the counter, taking in the wonderful smells and greetings from the friendly 'old man'. Though, he was probably only a few years Kakashi's senior.

"I'll have the seafood special." Naruto said as he triumphantly smacked the coupon onto the counter with his full open palm.

"And this beautiful young lady..?"

"She'll have the curry, but.. make it mild." Naruto said with a smile to Sakura

"W…Why mild? I like spicy stuff!" she almost puffed out her cheeks in disdain at the suggestion that she couldn't handle that sort of thing.

"Because we'll share and I don't like it that spicy."

"Share?" she sat and processed this idea for a moment as the old man smiled and made their food "Who says you're allowed to eat mine? You got the biggest one on the menu and we're sharing!" she pinched his cheeks as she said this

"Are you fohgettin tat I baht you your wahmen in the first pwace?"

(Are you forgetting that I bought you your ramen in the first place?)

Sakura blushed as she released his cheeks, then began to laugh almost hysterically.

"Wha.. Ow, That hurt! What's so funny?"

"The way… you just… spoke! It was ridiculous! Do it again!"

Naruto prevented her from grabbing his cheeks a second time in jest as she continued her insane giggle fit, _At least she doesn't hate me anymore_.

Naruto grasped his own cheeks as the old man set the bowls down, a look of confusion and doubt spread across the man's face as Naruto did this. He stretched his mouth out a bit and began to speak.

"Dhere, like dhis you mean?" he succeeded in getting a spot of drool down his front as he did this, which made Sakura laugh even harder.

"Our… food is here.." she picked up her chopsticks and broke them off with a sigh

"Are you two practicing for a booth in the festival?" the old man stared at Naruto who was still holding his cheeks like some sort of fish.

"Feshavhal?"

"Pardon sir, but we haven't heard about any festival." Sakura said as she subdued a laugh.

Naruto let go of his lips so that he could pay attention to the old man, this seemed worth hearing, though he still broke apart his chopsticks and ate while he listened, he was capable of multitasking and his ramen was immensely important as well.

"Well, Lady Hokage is having a huge festival for all of Konohagakure. It's going to be a few days long."

".. I haven't heard anything about that, when did you hear this? When is it?"

"I only just heard yesterday, it's supposedly in a week." the old man was surprised by the barrage of questions.

After finishing their meal, Naruto and Sakura left Ichiraku and thanked the man for the wonderful food as always. Naruto was fully satisfied by that, but now something else was pulling on the threads of Sakura's mind.

"What's wrong? Was the curry too spicy?"

"No.. I'm just wondering why Tsunade-Sama never told me about this."

"Maybe she had a good reason, does she think you're too busy right now?"

"No, she knows I'm not.. I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto…"

As she turned to make her way up the stairs to her home, thoughts raced once again in her mind. _Why wouldn't I be told something if all of Konoha is involved.. _She tried her best to keep upbeat, in a week the streets would be filled with happy people buzzing about more than usual, but something she couldn't explain was biting her from the inside out.

* * *

I'm sorry! It still doesn't seem long enough. All that waiting too.. but I swear I'll have the third chapter up WAY faster. As in.. INSANELY faster. Please don't hurt me. -begs- 


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